


Extra Spicy With a Dash of Honey

by MysteryNA, TheLadyBlueWolf



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, NO physical abuse, Papyrus is a dick, Skeleheat, Spicyhoney - Freeform, Underfell, and fighting, excuse me both papyrus' are a dick, heat - Freeform, heated situations, just some self hate, lots of fighting, lots of sexiness, sarcastic assholes, sexy papy on papy action, underswap - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 10:26:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9436073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysteryNA/pseuds/MysteryNA, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyBlueWolf/pseuds/TheLadyBlueWolf
Summary: Underfell Papyrus drops from the sky like a nuke set to bomb the world. Crashing down into Underswap, he is picked up by his counterpart who takes interest until the first words are spoken by Fell then shit hits the fan. Embark on this "exciting" adventure as these two shitheads try to get along. XD OH and heats... Supercalifuckiastic-SuckMyDickAndBe-a-Bitch-edocious~This is a co-written story betweenMysteryNAandTheLadyBlueWolffrom the Nyeher's RP group. This was MysteryNA's crack idea and this rp has been going on for months. We decided to turn our back and forth rp into a written story for all you wonderful peeps to enjoy~!





	1. Falling from Grace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The current document is 44 pages in length, but we are needing to go through the document slowly and precisely to ensure this story runs smoothly and has little to no grammar mistakes.

In a burst of intense red hot energy, the forest was basked in a bright red glow that stretched to the far reaches of the cavern and to the townsfolk in Snowdin. The ground violently shook with the force of the blast and out of the sky dropped a body that landed far off into the woods.

 

The monster's fall was broken by the branches of the pines, but their clothes were in tatters and their bones were slashed with deep gashes and chips. On the snow they lay out cold.

….

The Papyrus of this universe didn't usually do his job. It was, on the best of days, completely useless to patrol the outer forests of Snowdin. Half of the time he didn't even get out of his sentry station, preferring instead to take a nice nap where no one could see him but today he had decided to take a walk through the trees. Papyrus, or Stretch as his friends liked to tease, pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his hoodie pocket and stopped only to light the coffin nail before setting off again. The surrounding area was as quiet as a church, no other monster insight and his current destination was aimless.

 

With no real idea of where he was going today, he chain smoked a few of his cigarettes, thankful for the silence. It would be a while, as he pulled his last smoke from the pack and stumbled upon a weird clearing in the trees, broken branches laying in the snowpoffs. Suddenly on edge at the change in the usual droll routine, he kept an unlit cigarette between his teeth and approached with caution. Maybe the Temmie had decided to fuck up his peaceful day?

 

Amongst the strewn about broken tree limbs was small pieces of tattered clothing and droplets of red.

 

 _'Someone was injured? All the way out here?'_ He looked for signs of a struggle but could only see more of the broken tree limbs and a weird gap in the tree line suggesting whoever it was had fallen straight downward. Following the disturbed areas, he kept his eyes peeled for the menacing face of that demented Temmie.

 

His eyes locked on to a particular clump of branches below two tall pines that were piled high. Upon further inspection, his jaw locked as he realized there was a monster semi-buried in the snow with large patches of white dyed scarlet around them.

 

 _‘Shit.’_ Stretch picked up his slow pace through the cold, wondering how long it had been since the attack had happened. Kneeling slowly beside the prone form, he was careful in removing some of the snow. _'It's gotta be someone from town. I know practically everyone. Who the hell would wander this far though?'_

 

He carefully uncovered the unconscious monster. No one he knew dressed in any of these colors let alone... _'Holy shit....'_ Bones. Large ones, just like his own formed into a body very similar to himself lay in the snow. _'Did Gaster...? No.'_ There were no other skeletons besides his brother or himself but this was clearly not the case. Either way, they were badly hurt and needed some TLC if they were going to make it much longer. Carefully arranging the other's limbs, he lifted them from the snow. The monster groaned and twitched but otherwise stayed still. Taking one last look around the area, he decided it was too long to walk and summoned his magic to teleport home.

 

….

Whirls of color filled the unconscious monster’s mind as he distantly felt his body being lifted and carried. His soul sank with dread at being caught so vulnerable but despite his desperate attempts to wake up and fight for his life, his body refused to cooperate. He knew he was dust. No monster would pass up free exp, especially not from the royal guard captain no less. By presenting proof of their kill, they'd achieve a higher rank and become well known for conquering such a renounced monster.

 

As the monster lay limply, he tried to push through the fog and remember how he ended up in this mess, but his mind drew a blank and white hot pain filled his skull.

 

….

Stretch would deal with his brother's ire at leaving his post later and he popped back into existence inside their cozy home. Placing the weirdly dressed skeleton on the well-worn green couch, he moved up the stairs to the bathroom for their first aid kit. Usually it held only a collection of colorful bandaids but he pulled out a nondescript black bag from the very back. This one was for more serious wounds, usually reserved for broken bones and the like but it hadn’t seen much use as of late. He opened it quickly and nodded to himself before heading back downstairs to his charge.

 

Looking over the other monster he determined the pants would probably have to be cut off but the belt could be put aside. Hoping none of his clothing had been gifted to him, he began with the large boots on his feet. Setting them on the floor, he went back to the bag on the coffee table and grabbed a pair of scissors to begin cutting away the pants. Before he got too high, he pulled the blanket off the back of the couch to cover the other's pelvis. As he had thought, the pants were nothing but tatters. He inspected his legs for injuries that he may need to bind and treat.

…

The roughed up monster distantly focused his mind to gauge his predicament and try to make sense of what was going on. _‘Why wasn't he dust yet? Or were they publicly executing him?’_

 

…

The break in his right fibula looked painful so he set to realign the broken bone first. _‘Sorry whoever you are. You're probably gonna hate me for this but it's better than it not healing right.’_ It took him a few minutes in his painstaking slowness to reset the break before he was able the use a bit of magic to keep the bones together and coat it in a healing solution made for bones. He hoped it was still good, he hadn't had to reset anything on Sans for a few years so it might have passed its expiration date. Splinting and wrapping the leg, he moved to smaller nicks and scrapes noting older scars along the bones. _‘Damn buddy... Where the hell have you been?’_

 

…

As some point, Fell had dozed but his awareness was back in full as he felt pain blossoming up his leg, along with smaller but still noticeable stings and burns along other parts of his body. He wasn't sure how he was still alive, but keeping his eyes closed and body relaxed, he slowly tested each of his fingers by flexing each one experimentally to test their functionality. Everything seemed functional. Perfect…

 

Cracking his eyes open, he scanned his surroundings while putting up the front of still being unconscious. He needed to quickly get his bearings before springing on the enemy.

 

….

Nodding at himself he figured the other small cuts would be fine with a bit of antiseptic and he sprayed it on the other wounds. Now it was time to check on the upper part of his body. Turning to face the other monster he thought about how to tackle the ripped shirt. It could be saved at least, but he would have to remove the gloves first.

 

…

He immediately recognized his surroundings. He was home. But something was off... it looked.. Different…

 

…

He had to stand to remove the gloves and get to the other hand and pull them off. They went on the table behind him noting the quality of them as he placed them down gingerly. Next was the scarf, cape, thing. He unraveled it as gingerly as he could, hoping not to jostle his charge. “I deserve a night at Muffet's for this...”

 

Fell felt a presence hanging over him and he recognized (or so he thought) the lazy demeanor. Mistaking it for Sans he groaned and was about to speak up before he froze. . . That wasn't Sans' voice…

 

“Heh... Sorry buddy. I know it probably hurts a skele-ton but I gotta make sure you aren't hurt anywhere else...” He placed the scarf over the gloves.

 

The damaged skeleton’s eye lights snapped open and he gawked up to find a skeleton hanging over him that was most certainly not Sans! Jumping to his feet, he lunged at them with a bone weapon already materializing in his hand, swinging it in a wide arc. Pain exploded in his leg and he gritted his teeth as his lunged forward not reaching nearly as far as he'd hoped and his surprise attack missed it’s mark.

 

Stretch teleported backwards, placing the coffee table between them. “Woah there!” He held his hands up. “You uh, might want to take it easy there...”

 

The other’s eyelights flickered down for a split second to see his leg was fractured but bandaged up. “Who are you?” He tightened his hold on his bone weapon as he eyed his opponent carefully. They clearly bandaged him up... that much was obvious, but he suspected they had a reason, a gain perhaps...?

 

“Name's Papyrus.... Your's is...?” He kept his hands up, showing no threat, and relaxed more into his normal stance. “Might wanna keep that blanket on you. I kinda had to cut your pants off.”

 

 _'What?'_ The pissed off skeleton looked down to find his pants missing and his bones bare from the waist down. His face contorted into rage and he snagged the blanket to wrap it around his middle. Once he felt decent enough, he glared up at the other skeleton until it dawned on him. _'He said his name was Papyrus..?'_

 

“That's ridiculous! Are you some wannabe trying to stake your claim on my name?”

 

 _‘Stake my claim...? What the fuck?'_ Stretch had to take a deep breath and rubbed his forehead and his left eyesocket in a bit of irritation. “No.... My name is Papyrus. Always has been.”

 

The bandaged skeleton scoffed at him. “I am the great and terrible Papyrus, captain of the royal guard! And what are you, some shaggy skeleton who thinks it's a joke to try and fool me!”

 

'Well he's a ball of sunshine isn't he.' He looked up and exhaled as he placed his hands on his hips. “I'm just Papyrus. Sentry... Sometimes. Corndog vendor when it suites me. Local comedian at Muffet's and general nuisance if you ask for my brother Sans' opinion.” He shifted the unlit cigarette between his teeth and regarded this 'other Papyrus' with an amused smirk.

 

Papyrus felt unease at the "supposedly" other Papyrus' claims. What was Muffet's? He knew of Muffet but his wording made it sound like a place... He also said he was a sentry? He'd recognize him if he was. In fact, he'd never even heard of another skeleton being in the underground besides his brother and himself. And what did he mean "his" brother Sans... this monster was just a complete shit bag. He smoked, sold corn dogs and liked to waste time telling jokes!? The only joke here with this weird ass skeleton.

 

Peeling his eyes away for the briefest moment, he scanned the house again. it was his house alright, but it was far too bright and full of vibrant colors. A lot of shit was not making sense…

 

“Sans' in the name of my brother, but I am sure you are already aware or at least anticipated that...”

 

“Yeah... I'm kinda gettin that vibe.” Stretch stuck a hand in his hoodie and used the other to pull the cigarette out of his teeth. He had a theory about this sort of thing a loooong time ago but seeing it up close was a bit jarring. Not to mention this Papyrus looked like he had swallowed nails for each meal. “Soooo.... I'm pretty sure you're not gonna want to hear this, but _tibia_ honest, it's a bit weird for me too.”

 

Straightening slightly, the other Papyrus listened out of curiosity. “Go on.”

 

“You're not in Kansas anymore Toto. This.... Isn't your home. It's an alternate universe running parallel to yours, at least in theory.”

 

“Uh-huh...” _'Was this guy serious? He looked serious... this was all complete bullshit!’_ “I don't know what weird ass dream this is, but I am not amused…”

 

“That broken leg says otherwise.” Stretch gestured to the other Papyrus. “And I'd love for this to be some weird dream brought about by a copious amount of honey at my sentry station but I've seen everything happen a thousand times over and this has never happened before.”

 

“Seen _what_ happen a thousand times over?”

 

Papyrus shifted on his leg as it was brought up. He couldn't deny this other Papyrus was right... the pain was real and he had full awareness of his surroundings but it was hard to accept…

Stretch looked him over again. No, this other Papyrus had no idea what Stretch was talking about. He was one of those that forgot. Lucky... “Never mind. It's just something I say. So...” Part of him knew he needed to make sure there weren't anymore injuries on his counterpart but the guy was jumpy at best. “I didn't get to check your upper body for wounds. You might want to do that.”

 

“So let's go with this little theory of yours... if I am stuck in another universe, how did I get here and how do I get back?”

 

“I'm not sure how you got here... But I might have a way back. It's a long shot, by more than a few dozen miles....” He scratched his head.

 

“That's good enough. Now explain.”

 

“I've got this thing... In the shed outside. It's in pieces and it will take some time to fix up but it might get you home.” He began mumbling to himself afterwards. _'I mean it didn't work trying to get out but maybe if we're going into a parallel... But that could be dangerous too... And what if it explodes and does something to this timeline? I can't risk Sans... But I can't keep him here either. If he is a Papyrus he's probably worried sick about his brother... I wonder if I even have the parts? The schematics? Hmmmm....'_

“You mean the weird useless machine my shitty brother keeps locked up and refuses to tell me about?”

 

“Hey, Sans is the best damn thing in this entire place asshole. But.... Yeeeeah... Pretty much.” Stretch scratched the back of his head again as he shrugged.

 

“At one time it was supposed to be some sort of time machine but I miiiiight be able to re-calibrate it to deal with jumping universe.... Like I said. It's a long shot.”

 

“Sans' is supposed to be the older brother and yet he is a lazy slob who doesn't pick up after himself and is constantly being a nuisance with his fucking practical jokes and getting drunk on a daily basis! If I didn't keep my eye on him, he would surely fall asleep at his sentry station again and get his ass dusted while his guard is down! And I could care less what the machine use to be! If it's the key to getting me home then get to work!”

 

Papyrus of this universe rolled his eyes before resuming his lazy stare. “Glad we're in accord....”

 

 _'Stars... Now my New Home dialect is coming out.'_ Stretch could feel himself bristle with hostility.

 

The damaged skeleton remained standing and watched the other Papyrus. “Well? Are you just going to stand there?”

 

“Fine... Just don't touch my bro.” He moved out the back door, locking it behind him even though he knew it would do no good. The basement entrance wasn't far and he made the short trek through the snow, realizing the weather was changing. “Just keeps getting better....”

 

Opening the backdoor he walked inside and chucked his wet shoes off. Not that he really cared about making a mess, it was just easier to not track wet slush on the mountains of paperwork scattered all around. He located his quarry quickly, pulling the tarp from the top of the contraption and tossing it behind him. “Wow...”

 

…

Once he felt the other's presence leave. He cautiously checked all the rooms. The house was empty, but that wasn't all he found, or lack thereof. The house was completely unguarded. There were no cameras, traps, boards or locks on the windows, nothing! _‘How was he still alive?’_

 

Returning to the living room, he pulled his shirt over his head and looked down at the multitude of scratches and chips in his bones. Before, his full attention was on the other skeleton, on high alert in case they struck out against him, but now that they were gone, he realized just how sore and tired he was. His leg also burned painfully from continual use despite the break.

  
Sitting down on the couch, he slowly healed what he could with his magic, helping ease the sting and getting him back into fighting shape. A downed monster was a dead monster.


	2. Sarcasm is an Art

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY GUYS AND GALS AND NON BINARY PALS!   
> It's BlueWolf this time~. 
> 
> Sooooooooo here's the second chapter cause we couldn't resist. Like we said originally, we've been working on this for a LONG time. Personally this has been one for the best RPs and having a great writer like MysteryNA with me has been so much fun. 
> 
> SO, Hold on to your assholes cause we're diving back in.  
> Also, both of these Papyrus' are absolutely awful, if you didn't catch that in the tags.   
> Happy Reading!

Stretch came back in the house a while later, a scrap of paper in his hand and a nub of a pencil in the other. The weather had begun to pick up and he shook off the snow before kicking his shoes off.

Papyrus sensed the others presence a few seconds before he entered the house and by then he was back on his feet and on guard facing the door.

Entranced in his paper Stretch headed to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of honey before returning back to the living room. The heavy aura of the other monster made his head snap up in mid sip. “H-holy Toriel...” He sighed. “I forgot you were here...”

“You forgot? Seriously? What if I had been waiting to ambush you and lob your head off?”

'You would've been in for a hell of a surprise buddy...' He sighed and continued his path flopping down onto the couch. Ignoring the other Papyrus' lecture, he sipped from his bottle. “Took a look at the machine.”

“And?” He shifted away from the lazy Papyrus. His leg throbbed but he ignored it. He felt a lot safer standing.

“It's gonna take a lot of work. If we can even find the parts, which that in itself is going to take time, the amount of work needed to get it working... It could take weeks. Even months to be honest.” He sighed and relaxed further into the couch. Placing the small scrap of paper in his hoodie pocket he looked up at Papyrus. 'Stars that is weird. Gonna have to figure out a nickname or something....'

“Then why are you just stretching out and being lazy? If it's going to take a while get to work!”

“I still have several jobs to slack off at today and I was waiting for my brother to come home for lunch....” He pulled his cellphone out and checked for any recent messages. Quickly he double checked the date and opened the newest one he had from his brother. “Guess I'll have to wait till tonight. He's training with Alphys.”

“Your brother trains?” That was hard to imagine with his own Sans'. He rarely got motivated for anything. “And what is the point of working several jobs if you aren't going to do them properly!?”

He was enjoying ignoring some of the skeleton's questions. “Yeah, he trains with Alphys. Nothing too hard but he throws his whole self into it. You should see him. The way his eyes light up and everything. He's so awesome.” He sipped on more honey.

The rougher skeleton’s eye lights flickered down to the honey bottle and his face scrunched up in distaste. “You are more like my pathetic brother than a true Papyrus.”

“I'm sure you're thinking that's an insult but I'm the Papyrus here. I think I'm pretty true.”

“It's disgraceful that we share the same name...” Papyrus shifted backwards slightly to lean his weight against the wall, acting nonchalant as he talked.

“You can change yours if you like.” He crossed one leg over the other and finished off his bottle.

“The great and terrible Papyrus will do no such thing! I have a title and status to uphold as the fearsome captain of the Royal Guard!”

Stretch looked at him for a quick second before bursting out laughing. “Nyeheheheheh! 'Great and Terrible?!' Nyeheheheheh!”

He wiped a tear from his socket and leaned back into the couch. “I'm gonna call you.... Fell.... Yeah. That'll work.”

“Excuse me!? Are you looking for a fight?” Fell glowered down at Stretch as he pushed off the wall, eyes glowing red and magic condensing in his palm.

“Well I can't call you Papyrus... That'd be freakin weird...” He glanced at the bottle and pulled out his phone.

“I was referring to you mocking me asshole! I am known as the great and terrible Papyrus for a reason. Care to find out why?” His voice was smooth like silk but underlined with malice.

“Nah...” He held his hands up in a placating manner.

Tisking in annoyance, Fell’s magic simmered down and he leaned back up against the wall.

“I've got ten minutes before my next shift. Can I trust you not to blow up the house while I'm gone?”

“Of course I won't! It would be suicide to blow up my only shelter!”

“Good.” He stood from the couch. “There's tacos in the fridge and Sans will probably be at Alphys' tonight.... I'll be back in a few hours. Don't leave the house.”

“Don't try to order me around! I go where I please!” Fell shifted on alert as his copy stood up, watching him closely.

“Alright alright... Don't get your panties in a bunch.... See ya later~!” He mock saluted him and teleported to his post in Hotland.

He chucked a bone at Stretch just as he ported away in warning and it lodged itself into the couch cushion. Waving the magic away, he plopped down in its place and looked down at the break. If he was going to go anywhere, he needed to get the break fixed first.

Coating his hand in healing magic, he applied it to his break to make it mend faster. He couldn't stick around long. For one, he needed sleep but there was no way in hell he'd ever consider sleeping in an occupied home and get caught defenseless. He also had responsibilities as the Royal Guard Captain to keep his subordinates in order.

Another particular issue he had yet to properly address was his lack of pants. His full attention had been on the other skeleton but now that they were gone, he was fully intent on raiding their closet for something to wear. The idea irked him, but it was better than walking around bare from the waist down. Heading upstairs, he opened the room he assumed to be his counterparts and froze in the doorway. It was a complete fucking mess! How did he survive like this!? It was filthy and disgusting! Fell gawked at the mess around him before taking a step forward and cringing as a dirty sock touched his foot. He quickly kicking away the used article and shivered in revulsion. ‘Just get to the dresser and then get out…’ Quickly navigating through the sea of trash, empty honey bottles and stray laundry, he reached his counterpart’s dresser and sorted through it promptly before he found some black dress pants that were decently suitable to wear. 

Hastily retreating out of the room, he went into the bathroom and put them on before returning to the couch downstairs.

….

Ignoring the growing pit of dread in his stomach, Stretch “worked” his post before finally giving up all together and headed to the dump.

It took a while, sorting through all the trash to find parts and pieces, even resorting to dismantling various junk to get the things he needed. Some of the larger items on his list he would have to talk to Undyne about. ‘...Great....’ With his findings wrapped in a sheet of clean-ish cloth, he patted his pockets for a smoke. 'Damn. Well, looks like my shift is over.' He ported home.

Fell quickly got back to his feet as the other skeleton appeared, stance at the ready at a moment's notice to take action if needed. He hated that this other monster could teleport like his brother.

While he prided himself on his quick reflexes, it still unnerved him when he'd lose all sense of presence on the other until they reappeared.

“What?” Stretch kicked off his shoes and placed his bundle on the floor. “Ya didn't even turn on the tv?”

“While this house is eerily similar to my own, it is not my residence. It is disrespectful to mess with things that are not your own. Besides I need to be aware of my surroundings at all times and a noisy TV will weaken my senses.”

“Fair enough. Though this place is pretty quiet, you don’t need to be so on edge. The worst you get is the River person blasting your personal shit for everyone to hear...” He shuffled into the kitchen. “Hungry?”

“Heh, do you really think I'd buy that? A monster is a selfish, vile creature that only acts off of self-interest or to get gain! And I do not accept food not prepared by my own hands.”

“Well... Then I hope you know how to make tacos ‘cause that's all we have for ingredients...” He grabbed a bottle of honey out of the fridge. “Or.... I can grab us somethin’ from Muffet's....”

“You've mentioned Muffet before. Muffet is the spider bitch that would sell you a pastry at the price of your soul and a shit load of gold. But you make it sound like a place. So explain to me what you mean.”

“She's got a cafe slash bar just down the way. Sells some pastries and sandwiches with a good bit of booze. It's Grillby you gotta watch... He's a bit of stray spark and if you try to pinch anything without paying, you'll get burned.”

“.... We've got some distinct differences. No matter. Show me to the kitchen and I'll prepare something myself.”

“Come on in...” He waved an arm from the doorway.

Limping over to the kitchen, he peered inside. He paused when he got a look at a variety of stains in various places, some in particular had him puzzled. “How do you get stains on the ceiling?”

“Sans is... A very excitable chef...”

“Uhuh...” Trying not to focus too heavily on the imperfections, he pulled open the fridge to see what ingredients he had to work with. Pulling out a pound of ground beef, lettuce, cheese and tomato, he set them on the counter. Grabbing a pan, he positioned it on the stove before throwing in the meat to let it brown.

Looking around the kitchen for the other tools he'd need, he found the stash of cutting boards and knives. Grabbing a flat board and a sharp chef's knife, he set to work chopping up the vegetables. Once they were diced, he put them off to the side, and grated the cheese into a separate bowl.

Stretch sipped on his bottle of honey as he watched Fell from a chair at the table. 'Well, at least he knows how to cook...'

With the meat browned, Fell quickly seasoned it. “Where are the taco shells?”

“Top of the fridge.”

Taking the hard shells, he found a couple of bowls and crumbled a shell up in each. Picking up the bowls, he filled them with lettuce and tomatoes before topping them with the ground beef and cheese. “Done.”

“Nice....” He stood and grabbed a few utensils out of the drawer and set the table. “Drink?”

“I'm good.” Taking the bowls to the table, he set one on each end of the table before sitting down.

Stretch reclaimed his earlier seat and looked down at the food. It looked.... Actually edible for once. Sticking a fork in the bowl he scooped out a little bit of everything and stuck it in his mouth. 'Holy shit...'

Fell ate silently. He felt a lot better now that his energy levels were returning to normal. With his magic restored, he would be able to heal more quickly.

“This is good.” Stretch ate heartily, relaxing into the chair. 

“Of course it is! My culinary skills are unrivaled.”

“Well that's a relief.” He chuckled and sipped on his honey. “I seem to burn water....”

“And here I thought you couldn't be any more disgraceful...”

“I can make a mean muffin but cooking isn't my strong suit....”

“Just a muffin? That is hardly adequate.”

He rolled his eye lights and sipped his honey. “I can bake. But Sans can't really take sweets so I only do it occasionally.”

“Sweets are unhealthy and I dislike sugar. Your Sans sounds like they at least have some sense and are far more dignified than you are.” Fell frowned as he considered his words. A Sans that was actually worth something? Just saying that made him cringe. “I cannot imagine my Sans doing the things you have described your Sans doing.”

“You'd have to meet him. He's amazing.”

“Hm... seeing is far more efficient than just blindly believing someone's words. Very well. I'd like to meet this other Sans.”

“He should be home tomorrow morning, his 'training' usually consists of a sleepover.... Unless they set her house on fire again.”

Fell scrunched up his face in distaste. “His "training" incorporates a sleepover? What the fucking shit!? And he's set someone's house on fire before!? You make it sound like it is a natural occurrence!”

“Heheheh yeah, they've done it like, twice now. And the sleepover is so Undyne can come over and they can watch the latest anime she's found.”

“That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard! And Undyne watching anime?! That's absurd! My lieutenant would rather be caught dead than watch that shitty garbage!”

He leaned forward and dropped his head in his hand. “You'd be surprised what people do behind closed doors, Fell.”

“Well I for one have no interest in getting into another's' business! As long as they keep it far away from me! Unless of course it's shady business, in which case I drag their ass out to be judged. If they are guilty, then I carry out their execution personally~…” The suggestive hint from his counterpart did not go over his head. He just thought it "fun" to... unsettle them a bit. He had dealt with enough interrogations to know the best methods of getting answers and instilling fear and anxiety in his "unfortunate” victims.

“Personally huh...” He shifted in his seat and against his hand. 'Sadistic mother fucker'

“Enough with the pleasantries. You have a machine to work on and I need to get home.”

“Yeah yeah yeah...” He pulled his pack of cigarettes out, noting they were empty. “Gotta refresh first.” He stood up from the table and headed up the stairs. “be right back...”

Opening the door to his room, he shuffled inside and kicked around some piles and pulled out another pack of smokes buried underneath. Walking back downstairs, he grabbed up the supplies he had found and headed to his workshop. “Try to relax... I'll be back later.”

He watched the other leave silently. Once they were gone, he returned to the couch.

….

Once in the workshop, Pap set to work. Laying out the pieces he had found, he began tweaking the parts, and dismantling electronics while trying to organize what he had. It was slow but by the end of two hours he had most of his supplies ready and waiting. Now came the jigsaw and a few vague texts to his friend Undyne for the items he was missing. It was tough, skirting around the reason for his bizarre mix of supplies but a birthday present for Sans seemed more plausible than anything else he could come up with at the time.

….

During the time Stretch was sorting out the machine, Fell was struggling to stay awake. He had already been awake for the past three days straight in his own universe and he felt sluggish and out of sorts. If he slept now, he would surely be dusted in his sleep but his body was shutting down on its own, needing to rest and recuperate. After another hour of fighting off the urges, he passed out in a sitting position on the couch.

….

Rubbing his eye sockets and burning his last cigarette he finally stood and brushed off his pants. ‘Guess it's time to go check in Scary McGrumpy pants....’ He walked back to the house, neglecting the door and teleporting into the kitchen. He grabbed a beer and cracked it open before shuffling into the living room. “Well, I'll be damned....”

Fell breathed slowly and quietly as he dozed, too out of it to wake and respond.

Stretch downed his beer, setting it lightly on the floor before taking in the other skeleton. If he was sleeping, he shouldn't wake him but the way he had been so jumpy.... Maybe putting him in a closet or something would be better. 'And then I'll get a bone straight to my cranium when he wakes...' Sighing impatiently he decided to move the other to somewhere more secure.

It was an agonizing process to hike Fell up to his chest and carry him up the stairs. His room was sooooo not in the cards so he headed for San's room and his rocket ship bed. The door opened easily and the clear path to the bed was traversed quickly. He carefully lowered his charge into the rather large bed as gently as he could before pulling up the sheets and laying them over his body. ‘Maybe some sleep will help you.... Or, you know, a swift kick in the tailbone.’ With a sigh, he left the room, making sure to lock it behind him before he retired to his own bed for a few hours of fitful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to visit us at our tumblrs and send us comments here! Can't wait to see you in the next installment!


	3. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay guys. Both BlueLady and I got busy schedules, but here is the next chapter to this story~ Look forward to seeing the following chapter a lot sooner. I'll be putting a fire under Ladies ass to get her moving faster ;P Jk jk~ Can't wait to see what glorious comments we will be getting with this new chapter. Also, I suck at naming chapters as you know from my previous stories. (*Cough* which are unnamed for a reason. *Cough* *Cough*)

Fell wasn't sure how long he slept, but when he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room, he was on his feet to quickly, causing significant strain on his leg and he collapsed to the floor with a shout and hiss of pain.

The shouts traveled through the house, alerting Stretch to his temporary stay-in’s status. He had been up for about an hour, his usual routine of being rudely awoken by his brother instead replaced by a thud and sounds of pain. “If I have to reset his leg again...” He pulled his hoodie on and left his room, opting to knock on the door to San's room as a force of habit. “Hey, you ok in there?”

“Fuck! Shit! What the hell!?” Fell looked down at his leg in annoyance. Where was he and why was he lying in someone else's bed!? Glaring towards the door at the sound of the voice, he stood up shakily. Summoning a bone weapon for support, he limped over to the door. “What am I doing in here?”

“If we had the answer to that question, you wouldn't- oh, you meant in the room? You passed out on the couch. Figured a bed would be more comfortable.” _'Damn this new timeline....'_

“Of course the room dumbass and I do not need your assistance. In the future...” Fell growled dangerously, “Do not touch me again!”

Stretch rolled his eyes and walked away from the door. “Kay.” Heading downstairs he made a beeline for the kitchen. If he was gonna work on the machine all day, liquid energy was required.

Fell made sure the other was gone before he finally took in the appearance of the room. The room was clearly meant to be this Sans' room, but it was so _childish_ ! Sitting back down on the bed, he inspected the break. Thankfully he didn't make it worse, but it was a lot more tender than it had been the day before. _‘Just fucking great.’_

…

The smell of coffee flooded the kitchen and Papyrus filled his first mug of the day as he checked his phone. His brother had decided to run errands for Alphys today and had asked if he needed anything from New Home. Sending a quick, half-awake answer, he pocketed the device as he doctored the cup with honey and milk. Grabbing a pastry from his stash above the fridge, he stuffed it into his mouth as he shuffled to the living room and sat down.

Standing up, Fell hobbled back to the door. Turning the lock, he waited for any signs of warning before creaking it open carefully. Nothing. Walking out slowly, he looked down the balcony to see the kitchen light on and the rich aroma of coffee. When the other entered the living room, he dismissed his bone crutch, not wanting to show any weakness, before checking the walls outside the bedroom for anything suspicious. With nothing noticeably off, he made his way down the stairs, using the guard rail whenever necessary for support, but being discreet.

Languidly Stretch turned on the tv, the coffee still working through his system as Napstaton filled the screen. “Another day...”

“What are you rambling about?” He dropped down the last step and paused.

“Hm? Nothing... Same shit, same day....”

Fell raised a brow. “Have duplicate visitors often?”

“Well... Not this, obviously.” He flung a hand in Fell's general direction as his eyes stayed half glued to the tv. “This is the same though...” He waved at the screen and the flashing blue of the metal contraption.

“Then turn the damn thing off!”

Sighing and rolling his eyes, he turned down the volume as he sipped his coffee. Yeah, he could probably quote this broadcast verbatim at this point but, maybe something else would change? He could only sit in a mix of hope and fear.

Looking between the tv and his copy, Fell shrugged and sat down at the table.

Finishing his coffee, Stretch took his empty cup back into the kitchen for a refresh. “Want one?”

Fell eyed the cup suspiciously. Coffee would give him energy and clear his head but it was poison he would rather avoid. Except as far as he could tell his copy hadn't shown any signs of aggression or ill intent and he had more than a few open windows to take his life. Poisoning him now would be nonsensical.

While Stretch waited for a response, he poured himself another mug and looked back at Fell. “I don't make it perfect but it gets the job done...”

“Sure.” The other agreed nervously. If his analysis of the other was wrong and they were playing him like a fool, then he could only blame his own inability to properly discern his "cohort"...

With the okay given, he poured another mug for his companion and set it on the table in front of him. “Want milk, or sugar or somethin?”

“Milk and that will be all.”

He pulled the carton of milk out of the fridge and sat it before the other monster, plopping into the chair afterwards. “Since I don't have to work today, I'm gonna work on the machine some more. Undyne is getting some supplies together for me but I don't know how long that will take...”

Taking the milk quietly, Fell poured in a small drizzle before capping it and pushing it away. Sipping his cup gingerly, he waited for any negative effects. When none came, he drank more calmly. “So explain to me more about this machine... how does it work and what exactly can I do to further the project?”

“Well.... Originally w- I built it to rewind time to a point before we were trapped down here. Nothing I did could get it to work and fail after spectacular fail, I just let it be. But, in the theory of alternate timelines and universes, I wouldn't have to get it to bypass the barrier just.... Move next to it? So the ides is there are multiple timelines and universes living in tandem with one another along a parallel. Instead of trying to force the machine past the barrier, it would just 'connect' to one of the universes nearby. The problem being the coding of your world and how it differs from this one and being able to pinpoint it so we can get you back to yours.”

Fell listened quietly in interest. Fascinating... so his brother was working on something similar...? Perhaps he needed to give his brother more credit.

“The easy part is building the machine. The hard part is dissecting the world code. And I've got no idea how to do that.... Code was never my strong suit...”

“Computer coding I can do. I learned a bit of hacking and deciphering for security reasons, but this sounds.. out of my range.”

“Well, that's why I asked for some supplies from Undyne. There's.... A few things in her lab I might be able to grab but I need a guise to get down there. At this point I may just need an extra set of hands in the building process. The computer and coding will come later.”

“I'll lend my hand. Where exactly is this machine?”

“In my workshop out back.”

Finishing his coffee, he stood and washed it in the sink. Once it was dried and put away, he turned back to the other. “Lead the way.”

He sipped the rest of his coffee, opting to take it with him as he stood and headed to his workshop. “Follow me...”

Fell followed slowly, taking in his surroundings with utmost caution. It all looked the same... but different... the most notable difference being there were bright colors and cheerful monsters walking around. What the hell?

“Here we ar-....” He looked back at his companion's face. “Something wrong? You're more... scowly than usual....”

“How the hell can you all be so cheerful!? We're trapped underground with no way out!”

Stretch shrugged and pulled out the key to his workshop. “eh... we just kinda live with it.”

“How are you not all killing each other for power and prestige?”

“...Why would we do that?” Pushing open the door, he stepped inside.

Fell couldn't make sense of it... they were living normal lives... as if they didn't have a care in the world... “All the monsters in my underground have all lost hope. Our only solace is fighting for power or greedily hoarding riches. It's either kill or be killed!”

“Huh... well, here we're just trying to get by. No need to kill each other when there's plenty to go around. Queen Toriel makes it rather comfortable for everyone.”

“Intriguing... our queen Toriel abandoned all us monsters and left for the ruins, leaving Asgore to rule the underground as he pleases.”

“Really? That bites... well... I mean, Asgore did disappear. But Toriel seems to be taking it in stride. Sans knows more about her than I do though. Being a Sentry and one of Alphys' friends he gets to run errands and reports to her. That's what he said he was up to today.” He flicked on the lights and looked around the room.

The rougher skeleton paused to consider his words. “Our... "worlds" seem switched…”

“Yeah... I was thinkin that. Maybe we can use that when we work on the coding. For now, we've gotta get this hunk of junk up to date....”

Stepping inside the room after Stretch, he looked the machine over. “Doesn't look like much.”

“Yeah well... I had to pretty much dismantle it after the hard drive fried...”

“Whatever. So where do we start?”

“Well.... right now we need to take apart the motherboard and replace all the fried wiring. So, if you can straighten out the pile that I found from the dump, I'll work on pulling them out, one at a time and then we can work on replacing them...”

Organizing was his specialty~ turning to the pile as directed, he set to work putting the pieces into categories of similar pieces as well as setting the piles side by side from largest to smallest.

Stretch worked close by; he was able to determine what wires he could use to replace the ones he had to pull apart and having them separated by length gave him a better sense of how the board could be better managed. “Huh. This is actually turning out better than I expected....”

“Any other preferences?”

“Uh... well. Now we've got this all down... I've got a few more pieces of metal to bend. Then it's the computer and coding. Those pieces I'll have to see Undyne about.”

“What's your estimate on the time of completion?”

“... With all the good progress it may be a few more days.... at least for the actual machine. The computer work and finding the right code would be the bitch of the project. Maybe I'll be able to scour Dad's notes....” He forgot how good it felt to work on these kinds of projects. Using his mind and having someone to work alongside.

“Good. Hopefully shit hasn't broken loose by the time I return. I trust my lieutenant to keep the mutts organized.”

“Huh? Oh right, Head of the Royal Guard.... how does that work anyways?”

“Can you expound?”

“I know that Alphys keeps the group in shape. Exercises, camping weekends, and working with the pack to keep the harmony and hope. You make it sound more like a military operation than a guard. The most they have to deal with is a couple of kids wandering into places they aren't supposed to and the occasional drunk not paying his bill...”

Fell's frown deepened. “We have to deal with murder, plundering, rape, executions and a whole lot of other shit. Without their being a higher power, there wouldn't even be any order.”

“Wow... that's.... that's some heavy shit...” He pulled a broken stereo closer and pulled out a cigarette. “oh, now I'm being rude. Want one?” He held the pack out.

“I don't smoke or drink.” Fell leaned up against the wall and watched the other silently, trying to get a read on them.

“Really? Damn.” He lit the smoke and pulled it away, going back to taking apart the plastic casing. “How do you unwind then?”

“How do I unwind?”

“Yeah, you know, relax? Take a load off? Chill? I smoke... and drink when inclined. Sans likes to make puzzles. What do you do?”

“Oh. I cook and make traps.”

“Well your cooking is superb so I can only guess on your trap making.” Stretch pulled out the electronics with a practiced hand, taking drags of his cigarette as he worked.

“You have to learn to survive for yourself or you are free exp.”

He nodded as he held the electronics up to the light. “True. Alright. I got three of these things, we need to take them apart and pull out the chips inside. Try to keep the wiring if possible.”

Fell picked up one of the electronics and set to work taking it apart while being careful with the wires.

It was a nice silence as Papyrus and Fell worked together, only to be interrupted by Pap's cellphone ringing. “Who the hells could that be?” He pulled out his phone and answered it. “Papyrus.”

Finishing with the first electronic, Fell set it aside and glanced at the other.

Stretch placed the phone between his shoulder and the side of his skull as he continued working. “Yeah. No. Yeah. I'll be there. May be a little late. Yeah, you know, the normal stuff. Yeah I got it. No no. I'll be there. See you then.”

He hung up the phone and stuck it back in his hoodie. “Sorry about that.” He finished pulling out the last bit of hardware and set it aside.

Not his business. “Where do you want this?” He held up a piece for emphasis.

“Uh... I have no idea. The table over there? Shit. Now I gotta find my soldering iron. Hmm...” He shuffled over to the drawers, rummaging through them. “Maybe I put it in a box...?”

Taking the parts over to the table carefully, he set them down in the order of which pieces he removed first.

He pulled out the soldering iron and plugged it in, allowing it to heat up. “Ok.... uh, right now what we need is to finish repairing the outer casing of the machine. If you want to work on that while I hodgepodge these together, that might make this a little faster. The diagram is right over there.”

“Easy enough.” Looking over the diagram, he followed the blueprint and set to work mending the exterior.

Working in silence again, they set to work on their tasks. Just having another person in his workshop made Papyrus realize how much he really missed the lab. “Heheheh....”

Pausing in his work, he looked at the other in confusion. “What?”

“Huh? Shit. I thought I was laughing in my head.” He shook his skull. “Just thinking about how much I kinda missed this stuff. Working on something that actually makes me think.”

“Knowledge is power. To lose that would make you insignificant and a nobody without any purpose and you'd waste away, further plummeting into a state of disregard or being completely disconnected from the world... it’s how my brother is... He was once all into science. Showing great purpose... but then he stopped... Started deteriorating but acted like nothing was wrong... I tried to beat it out of him but that didn't change shit.”

' _Of course that wouldn't work you idiot... especially if he's gone through the same shit I have._ ' He nodded as he finished his shouldering job. “I can't speak for your brother but having someone willing to do it with you certainly helps.” He turned around and surveyed Fell's patching. “Nice. Another full day of this and we'll be ready for the computer.”

“It's how we talk things out. Words are meaningless, so we use our fists and magic. But he keeps shutting me out! The little shit is infuriating!”

“Heheh... well, from working with you I figure you'll get through to him eventually. But you probably should chill on beating the shit out of him. Might make him recede further.”

“I said too much. Forget I said anything.” Fell stepped away from his work and rolled his shoulders to stretch.

The orange clad skeleton nodded and cracked his neck. “Well, we should grab something to eat. We've been at this for a bit longer than I expected honestly.”

“If you want real food, we need to pay your shop keeper a visit.”

“Hmmm.... yeah. I can only have so many tacos....”

“Good, because your fridge is sorely lacking and I have finer tastes than making the same goddamn dish.”

“Heheheh. Alright, alright.” He checked his pockets, making sure he had all he needed. Satisfied, he exited the lab into the cold Snowdin air with his companion close behind. Pulling up his hood to block out most of the wind, he popped another smoke between his teeth. “This way.”

The edgy skeleton followed after Stretch with his head held high and his posture straight, showing his status to anyone who might try to engage him that he was not to be trifled with.

Stretch shuffled through the snow, completely at ease with his hands in his pockets before stopping in front of the shop and ditching his cigarette in the snow. He opened the door and held it out for Fell.

Fell entered first, with Stretch close behind. Letting the door close behind them, Stretch waved at Catty behind the counter before moving down the isles to look around at the assorted shelves.

Picking up a basket, Fell grabbed a variety of items, stacking them up in an organized fashion and filling the container to the max. “This should do for now...” Taking the basket over to the counter, he dropped down a bag full of gold coins. “This should be more than enough to cover the cost.”

Catty looked over at Papyrus and took the money. "Um... thank you! Come again!" Stretch shrugged and chuckled.

Bagging up the food, the pair carried it out. As soon as they were back outside, Stretch lit up again and headed home with Fell in the lead.

“What are we havin?”

“I grabbed an assortment of dish preparations. By the sounds of what we discussed earlier, I will be staying a while. If that is the case, then a variety had to be selected. For tonight, I was going to prepare my personal favorite dish, spaghetti.”

“Spaghetti huh? Damn. I haven't had that in forever.” Arriving back at the house, Papyrus opened the door and held it out of the way for his companion.

Fell paused to observe the behavior before stepping through and nodding curtly in appreciation. Taking his bags over to the counter, he set them down and pulled out the items to put them away.

The door closed behind them as Stretch entered inside and kicked off his shoes to slip his feet into waiting slippers. “You need any help with that?”

“I'm going to need to know where to put everything away.”

“I can do that.” He shuffled into the kitchen and opened the cabinets they used as a pantry and began putting a few of the ingredients away. “Thank you, by the way.”

“I don't need your gratification.”

“...alright then.” He put away a few more items and stepped back. “Sooo.... I've got to run to a meeting. I'll be back in about an hour.”

“A meeting...?”

“Yeah.... something I have to do about once a month. You gonna be ok alone?” He checked his phone and pocketed it again. “I gotta grab something for my room and then I'm off.... wait... you are me right? Or some alternate Papyrus right? You should-“ Maybe it wasn't his job in his universe. “Nevermind. I'll be right back.”

“Do you really have to ask? Of course I'll be fine. And I should what?”

“I thought you would have this job too but that may be someone else...” He went up the stairs and came back down a second later with a folder under his arm. “Don't burn the house down.”

“You are not explaining what the job is! And burning food is a disgrace for any true chef!”

“I've gotta go meet with the Queen. Monthly report for the Underground.”

“That should be the job of the royal guard captain! Sentries are to report their findings to their leaders who present the information to the king. Or in your case queen. No lowly monster can seek presence with the king!”

“Heheheh... it's a special position. Code name: Royal Jester. Our Queen gets the reports from Alphys but they don't tell the whole story. Small feuds, disagreements, general happiness or hopelessness, births... natural deaths and those who are falling down. Those things aren't often taken by the Royal Guard. It's up to one monster who, well, pretty much knows everyone and can get that kind of information. Someone no one fears. Someone they are relaxed with.”

“Hm... so you earn everyone's trust and get them to lower their guard to get information otherwise unobtainable... very sly and clever... a job I would be unable to perform... but I have other methods for getting information~”

“Yeah... I remember.” He checked his phone again as his tone dripped with sarcasm. “Alright. I'll be back. Can't keep the Queen waiting.” He mock saluted Fell and winked as he teleported.

Rolling his eyes, Fell returned to the kitchen to prep dinner.


	4. The Decaying Blossoms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Title: Mutual Ego Masturbating (This was not approved)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ey ey~! Can you tell who posted this one? Yeah totes me. Props to Mystery for kicking my ass back into gear. I do have to apologize, we both went through an emotional catastrophe and I fell into a big deep hole that I didn't know how to crawl out of but Mystery is nothing if not AMAZING and came to dig me out with her posting of the last chapter. Also my work schedule is shitty (if you follow my other Fics you will understand that I have NO update schedule) and does not help with my lack of sleep and depression~ YAY! SO!  
> Ignoring all of that, Please enjoy this chapter and all the REALLY hard work that went into it!

The meeting chambers was just a small office, two comfortable chairs facing each other with a desk laden with paperwork and missives from different parts of the underground. The Queen sat reclined in her seat, her Jester actually talking for once. It was going well, most of the Underground seemed to be in good spirits despite their predicament. Small quarrels had cropped up between the dogs but it was mostly just stress from a new litter of pups. Toriel was surprised at the new additions and made arrangements to send the family some provisions. Papyrus debated on telling her about his newest addition but figured it would confuse her a little too much.

"If that is all Papyrus…?"

“Yeah Tori, that's it.”

"Then I leave you to your evening. Tell your brother I said hello!" She sat up from her comfortable posture and waved at him as he stood and bowed.

“Of course my Queen.”

"Be well Jester."

He only made it around the corner before teleporting back to his residence.

...

Fell had finished cooking the spaghetti. He had even set the table as well as washed any used dishes no longer needed by the time Papyrus landed back in the living room. The lanky skeleton was almost exhausted from his magic expenditure. The smell of Italian spices filled the house and he slowly shuffled in to investigate. “Hey.”

Fell nodded in greeting. “Whenever you are ready to eat, the spaghetti is done.”

“Smells great, I'd love some.”

“Then sit. The table's already set.”

Stretch pulled out his normal chair and sat down at the table while his companion sat down across from him before they dug in.

Stretch ate silently, enjoying the food as he relaxed at being back home. “Meeting went well.”

Fell set his fork down as the other initiated conversation and looked across the table at Stretch. “How can you be so calm?”

“.... Honestly? It takes too much energy to care. The eventual outcome would be the same, I'd be dust. If I'd wanted you dead, that would've happened when I found you. If you'd wanted me dead, I'd be gone by now. So the way I see it, I can enjoy some food that isn't burnt beyond recognition and company that isn't my brother for as long as you're here.” He finished his food and leaned back. “This timeline has been weird from the start and I'm kinda floundering on what to do. Almost everything is the same.... except you. You are the only thing new or different in- stars knows how many resets. Half of me is happy, the other half has no idea what to do or what is right, or how I should react to get the better outcomes. I know how each day should go with my brother. I know every word that is going to come out of his mouth and sometimes I even hear it in my sleep. You're right when you say we should be upset at our predicament but what's the alternative? Waiting for a human child to come down and slaughter us all? One by one? No thank you. So they find things to stay happy. And I keep Sans as happy as I can. For as long as I can.”

“A human!? In the underground!?”

“.... Your brother didn't- of course not... you're the one that doesn't remember....” He light up a cigarette and rubbed the back of his skull. “Your bro have nightmares?”

“...Occasionally. He was so damn loud sometimes, I bet everyone in Snowdin could hear.”

“Yeah... things are switched. Ok. Brief summary? In about....” He checked his phone. ” Six days a human kid will come walking out of the big door in the ruins. I'm the first to run into them. Every. time. Sometimes they're clean, scared and cold. Other times they’ve got a bit of dust on their sleeves and they're panicked.”

He paused and exhaled the smoke from between his teeth. “More often than not, they're covered, head to toe in dust… From there? They have about three paths they take. They'll either befriend everyone, kill some and leave the others, or slaughter everyone in their path. I want to believe in them... every. Goddamn. Time. But I can't just kill em off the bat. Not my job. Problem is, if you kill them, they... I can't even explain it sometimes. It's like they rewind time to back to a fixed point.”

“Nyehehe” Fell's eyes darkened and he looked at the other with a knowing smile. “I might be here when they arrive...”

“Yeah.... but you won't remember. If they kill you.”

“Heh, kill me? I highly doubt it.”

“... Whose name does your brother call when he has his nightmares?”

Fell clenched up his fists and replied quietly. “Mine...”

He continued to smoke, tapping the ash in a small ashtray nearby as he looked at Fell. “...I call Sans'. He doesn't remember. There are sometimes where I think he does, gripping his small scarf, or a nightmare that he doesn't remember fully... but as much as I've tried, it doesn't change... even if you were here when the kid arrives, your bro would never forgive me if something happened. And stars knows what would happen! You could cease to exist!”

“Hm... You said if they kill you or if you kill them then they reset, but there is a third option~”

“Oh? Tying them up and putting them in the shed?”

“How soft are you?”

“I am very squishy...?”

Fell rolled his eyes. “Sure, tie them up, but there are ways to torture someone without killing them. Without this knowledge, yea I would probably just kill them without a thought, but by knowing, I can be aware and effectively disarm them.” He paused to give the other time to respond. When they remained silent he continued, “Honestly, if Sans just stopped to think and filled me in, then problems like these wouldn't happen.”

“... It's a thought.” He took another drag. “Only if the kid has dust on them...” He didn't feel totally right about torturing a small kid, especially if they would finally free them. Buuuut back to the discussion. “He probably told you once or twice... but gave up after a while. Like I did. Would you have even believed him?”

“I trust my brother more than I trust anyone else in this godforsaken life. So yes probably.”

“Huh...” He snubbed out the cigarette and lit another. “Want dessert?”

“Dessert.” Fell looked at the other confused by the sudden change in topic.

“Yeah. I was gonna grab a treat from Muffet's.” The talk had gotten a bit heavy and he needed a break. Besides he wanted to thank the other skeleton for their meal even if he wouldn't accept it verbally.

“I'll pass. I don't like sweets.”

“... How about some wine then?” He stood and shuffled over to the highest cabinet, pulling down a slightly dusty bottle. It was a nice red he had gotten from Muffet for securing some special ingredients for her and he had yet to find an occasion to drink it. “Seems like it would fit as dessert.”

“I can enjoy a good glass of wine from time to time.”

Stretch hummed as he pulled a corkscrew out and let the wine breathe as he searched for some glasses.

“Once we've finished up in here, shall we return to working on the machine?”

“Yeah… Sounds good.” Stretch poured a finger of the wine and walked it over to Fell before pouring one for himself and having a taste. “Mmmm... not bad”

Fell took the glass and waited for the other to drink before taking a small sip and humming in agreement.

Papyrus filled both of their glasses and sat back down. “Now I kinda want to know why you haven't killed me yet.” He leaned on one hand and sipped at his wine.

Fell tightened his hold on the glass and frowned at the red liquid, watching it swish as he sat back in his chair and sighed. “You haven't given me a reason to. You saved my life and while I have doubts I won't be owing you some kind of ‘favor’ in return, you have helped me more than any monster in my life has ever cared to, save from my brother of course.”

Stretch flushed slightly and took another sip of his wine. “I just did what I thought was right Fell. And you don't owe me anything.” He wasn't sure if the blush was from the wine or their current subject of conversation. “Hells, I have half a mind to finish that machine just so you can have somewhere safe to go when needed.” Maybe when they were finished he would copy the plans and send them with the other Papyrus so his brother could bridge the gap.

Fell downed the rest of his wine and pushed away from the table. “Right, well I am going back to work on the machine.” The conversation had taken a very unsettling turn and he wasn't sure how to feel about it.

Stretch downed the rest of his wine and shook his head slightly. He wasn't a lightweight necessarily but one glass would make the night a little bit interesting. Cleaning up the glasses, he placed them on a towel to dry and recorked the bottle. Sighing slightly, he finally worked up the nerve to follow Fell to his workshop. This was going to be an interesting night.

Walking inside the room, Papyrus shook his head to clear it again and pulled out the computer designs and a pencil while Fell set to work back on the body of the machine. “Hmmmm...” He pulled out a cigarette and lit it as he worked on some calculations. It didn’t take long for the scent of cigarettes to fill the room and Fell frowned in distaste. “Ugh.. that stuff smells foul. How can you smoke them?”

“Hmm?” He looked over at Fell, the smoke between his teeth. “The cigarettes? Heh. They uh, they remind me of my Dad." He scratched the back of his head and adjusted a set of glasses on his nasal bone.

“Your dad?” Fell asked partially curious as he worked on welding two sheets of metal together.

“Yeah.” He leaned against his hand as he tapped the ashes into a tray. “He was busy a lot when we were kids. I remember him more than Sans does but the one thing I remember was the smell of cigarettes that clung to him when he was home.” He twirled the lit wrap in his hand. “He wasn't home very often but I picked up the habit when I started working with him.”

“Hm...” Fell didn't remember anything of his parents... He only remembered being alone on the streets with Sans ever since they were kids.

“Things... didn't go well shortly after that and it kinda became my crutch. Sans has tried to get me to quit but... I think he associates the smell of them with happier times so his attempts are a bit half-hearted.” He chuckled and looked over at Fell. “Is it too much? I can try and crack a window.”

“That would be appreciated.” The room was getting to stuffy both with the smell but also with their thick conversations. He should just stop talking. He was getting too comfortable around the other skeleton and he needed to keep his distance.

Stretch walked over to a small window and propped it open to let in the fresh air. “You remember anything about your old man?” He walked back to the table and plopped back down. He was... actually enjoying this. Getting to know this other Papyrus and actually feeling a bit of hope.

“No. Sans and I grew up on the street. He took care of me till I was old enough to fend for myself… I quickly worked my way to the top of the food chain because power is everything.”

“Woah...” He took another puff and angled his head to exhale out the window. “And you became the Head of the Royal Guard.” He smiled lightly. “I'm glad you and your bro have each other's backs like that.”

“Indeed.” Setting his welding tool down, he picked up the metal sheet and began fitting it into place.

“Want an extra hand with that?” He snubbed out the dead cig and stood.

“Sure. It needs to fit around the middle.”

He helped lift the metal into place so Fell could secure it to the frame. “That in line?”

Fell leaned back to inspect the angle and nodded. “Looks about right.” Picking up the wielder again, he set to work sealing the metal sheet to the frame.

He chuckled as Fell worked. “This is really going to test our metal!”

The darker skeleton dropped the tool is surprise, not expecting the pun. His teeth tightened in distaste and he picked back up the tool. “Not you too... I hear enough puns from my brother...”

“Damn! Here I thought we were bonding.” He chuckled again, trying to make sure he could move if Fell decided to use the torch on him instead. He stepped away from the sheet. “Looks good man. I'll go easy on the puns so you don't get wrinkles in your skull.”

Pleased that it held, he turned to face the other. “Let me make this clear. I do not belong here and once I return home our involvement is through. I am not your buddy and we are most definitely not bonding.”

Stretch’s smiled stayed in place but it felt empty. “Got it.” He looked over the machine, still pleased at the progress. “Well, we might not be bonding but this is the best this machine had ever looked.” He nodded and headed back to the table to work on the calculations.

He cringed at the other's expression. He could see right through it. His words hurt the other. Why should he care? They weren't ever going to see each other again! The thought was ludicrous! He needed to put a wall up now before things got to out of hand.

“Hey, Fell? You know anything about Quantum Mechanics? I need another set of eyes on these calculations.” He called as he adjusted the glasses on his face. “Or at least basic math.”

“Not my strong suit unfortunately... I never went to school and I have bad vision...” There he went again, giving too much information... What was it about the other that got him so relaxed and open?

“I've got the same with the eyesight but... think of it as a puzzle maybe?” He took off the glasses and held them out.

Stepping forward, he grabbed the glasses and put them on. The sudden sharpness in clarity took him by surprise. “So what am I looking for?”

“Well, I'm trying to figure out the parameters of the two universes. So, think of two spheres and we're trying to string them together by one rope with a hook on the end. Problem is, we don't know what length of rope we need or how big the hook has to be. With some of the machines I'm going to get from Undyne tomorrow, I may be able to figure out the rope part but it's the hook I need. So, look at this as if it was a trap. We need to catch the other universe in it so we can snag it.”

“Alright... but that doesn't explain what I am looking for in these lines of code...”

“Bumps, holes, anything that is out of place.”

“You mean dips in the coding that don't quite match the rest? What do I do with this information when I spot them?”

“Yes. Anything like that. If you see them, circle them with this pen.”

“Got it.” Taking the pen and pages, he set to work scanning over the numbers.

Stretch scooted off the stool and slid over to the window to smoke again. Maybe Fell didn't want to get chummy but he could already feel himself becoming attached despite everything.  _ 'Dammit...' _

Marking the page as instructed, he found as many of the spikes as he could, double and triple checking over the numbers.

He flicked the last of the cigarette out the window and approached. “How bad is it?”

Adjusting his glasses, he held the page up for the other to see. “I am seeing a lot of fluctuations.”

“Damn.” He squinted at the paperwork, noting all the circles. “I'm gonna have to pull out Dad's paperwork and see where I went wrong.” He placed his head in his hand and sighed. “Maybe tomorrow will be easier... I'll get those computer parts and the machines and maybe something will come together.”

“Are you calling it a night?”

“Not yet.” He inhaled deeply. “We can finish the portal tonight I think. Then we can tackle the computer before I have to see Undyne.”

“Good. I have no intentions of stopping until it is complete.”

He nodded and pushed away from the table. “Let's get to it.”

Taking off the glasses, he handed them back to Stretch and returned to finishing the last few touches on the exterior to the machine.

The other pocketed the spectacles and worked on helping Fell. They worked into the late hours of the night, finally stepping away when the portal was complete. “Damn. This looks good.”

“Do we only need the coding now?”

“Yeah and to hook up the monitor and keyboard but that's like, three cables and a flashlight. Biggest thing is making sure the monitor will turn on. Heheheheh.” His laughter was tired as he wobbled on his feet. Since Fell's arrival he had been actually working, not his usual routine of feigning work.

“That shouldn't take too long. The sooner I return home the better. God forbid Sans hasn't gotten himself dusted by the time that I...” Fell paused noticing the other's unsteadiness. “If you are tired then just go to sleep.”

“Nah... I wanted to get this done. Not like I'm actually going to sleep anyways...” He smiled mirthlessly and shook himself again.

“You look like you are about to pass out on your feet. If you fall I'm not catching you. At the very least you should head inside and sit down for a bit.”

“Yeah.... I'm gonna go sit on the couch for a few...” He placed a hand on his head and shuffled out, hitting his shoulder on the doorframe. “'M good...” He continued the trek to the couch.

Shaking his head, he looked around the lab. The remainder of the project required Stretch's help so he would just be standing around aimless if he stayed and his leg was throbbing painfully from putting too much strain on the break. Limping out from behind the house, he followed his copy inside.

It had taken about five seconds for Papyrus to kick off his shoes, plop down on the couch and pass out.

Seeing the other already asleep he chuckled. “Not tired my ass...”

Papyrus snored lightly, with his head falling to the back of the couch. It wasn’t exactly comfortable but he didn’t seem to be moving anytime soon. 

With nowhere else to sit, Fell sat down against the far wall and closed his eyes. He knew he was safe here, so a small rest should be fine… It didn't take him long to fall asleep in his sitting position. He was still sorely lacking sleep and his injury required more time to heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So~!, we wanted to ask you all, our lovely readers, who do you think is who?  
> Who is Stretch? Who is Fell?  
> Tell us in the COMMENTS~!  
> Don't forget to visit us on our tumblrs~!


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